Washed Away
by Cindy England
Summary: A young Sweet Tear slips out of the holt for a quiet night of solitude but little does she know she's in for a the adventure of her life! Washed away downstream by a violent storm she stumbles upon a human hunting party - and lives to tell of the mysterio


Washed Away by Cindy England Title: Washed Away  
Author: Cindy England  
Disclaimers: Characters presented within are property of [Rushwater Holt][1]. ElfQuest is copyright [Warp Graphics Inc.][2]. 

A young Sweet Tear knelt at the base of the holt's main tree, painstakingly removing scales from Snowspear's latest catch of fresh fish. She had been at the task for what seemed like the better part of the night and her mind was starting to wander. It had been several moons since she had last gone to watch the sky and her thoughts began to drift toward her favourite canyon glade. Unfortunately, there were still fish to scale. 

Sweet Tear sighed and continued at her task, paying less attention now then she had originally. Finally she felt that she needed to get away, to have some time to herself, without dead fish. She hurriedly wrapped the remaining fish in an old oiled leather bag and anchored them to the bottom of the riverbed to keep the meat from rotting. Then she slipped out of the holt for a night of solitude. 

Her disappearance did not go unnoticed to one set of eyes. Just outside the holt's clearing, Sweet Tear caught the scent of her wolf-friend, Bramble. Knowing the old wolf would want to tag along for the trip, she paused to wait for him. Bramble was the type of wolf that liked to explore and sniff everything out and she knew that her homebody habits must bore him. 

The pair silently started their journey to the canyon glade where Sweet Tear periodically would go to be by herself. The roar of the river that flowed past the holt grew louder as she and Bramble walked. The forest trees thinned slightly to reveal the narrow rock ledge that led to the other side of the canyon where the glade lay. Bramble stopped in front of her and sniffed the path, he sniffed everything. Then the old wolf continued to walk calmly across the ledge. 

Sweet Tear gulped. She had never liked heights. The ledge wasn't so narrow that she felt she would necessarily fall but she still got scared. She looked down below and watched the roaring river swirl and foam. She gulped again. Setting one foot gingerly onto the ledge, she held her breath and quickly skimmed across. Even after all these trips, she still couldn't face her fear of heights. 

But now they were on the other side and the glade was near. She smiled and sighed, feeling relieved as she slipped onto Bramble's back to ride the rest of the way. The night was somewhat cooler than normal and the wind had picked up, carrying many forest scents with it. 

Before the elf and wolf the path widened and the forest and canyon rocks gave way to a lush field of brightly coloured flowers. Sweet Tear glided down off Bramble's back to feel the soft petals brush against her skin as she walked. The flowers bent and waved with the passing wind. There was something on that wind, but Sweet Tear couldn't tell what it was. Climbing onto her favourite rock, a large and flat stone of reddish colour, she stretched out to watch the sky, and decided not to worry about the wind. 

Mother Moon was full this eve and she carried Child Moon across the sky before her. In due time the pair fell asleep together in the stillness of the night. However, their restful sleep was not to remain so for long as a vicious skyfire storm suddenly seemed to burst open above them. 

The deafening crack of thunder and flashing of light in the sky shocked Sweet Tear and Bramble awake, hearts pounding. Freezing cold rain poured down, drenching elf and wolf to the bone in seconds. Startled by where she was at first, Sweet Tear realized they had to get back to the holt, and quickly. 

The pair bolted for home with the brutal storm fast on their heels. Bramble slowed his pace for only a moment as he hurtled over the rock ledge. Sweet Tear gritted her teeth and followed the old wolf but to her horror the rocks below her feet gave way with the pounding rain, sending her tumbling into the swollen river far below. 

Never a good swimmer, Sweet Tear splashed and fought to keep her head above water, gasping for air. She choked and coughed as she gulped at mouthfuls of water instead. Panic streaked through her mind, numbing her into a state of white cold. She couldn't see the shore, couldn't see Bramble, couldn't breathe! 

The water threw her back and forth, and she frantically grabbed for anything she could find to pull herself to shore, all to no avail. Pain shot through her back as she finally hit an outcropping of rocks and clung to them for dear life. 

Agonizingly slowly, Sweet Tear managed to pull her bruised and battered body to shore, choking on more muddy water. She was beyond the tribe's normal hunting territory and Bramble was no where in sight. She tried to howl to him but coughed fiercely, her throat torn from gasping for air and swallowing so much water. 

She stumbled through the forest, her vision blurred, cold and wet and in much pain. Suddenly the forest seemed to stop and she fell into a clearing. When she raised her head, she found six human men staring at her from behind a small fire pit. Terrified, she held herself completely still on all fours, watching the five fingers she had never seen with her own lupine eyes. 

The humans, equally shocked did not move either. After several long and painful moments, one of the burly human men stood and picked up a brand from the fire while moving toward Sweet Tear who, still frozen with fear, could only watch in bewilderment. He shuffled forward until only a few feet away from the young elf lass where he knelt and taking off his bone and stone necklace, laid the gift on the ground while chanting something Sweet Tear could not understand. Then he slowly stood up and walked backwards to his group, watching what she would do. 

Sweet Tear stared at the humans. They seemed to have a look of awe on their faces as they watched her. She looked down at the necklace, apparently a gift to her. The bones where old and dry but carefully polished to a smooth white and the stones glittered many colours in the amber firelight. Sweet Tear sat up onto her haunches and carefully picked up the necklace, looking up at the human man that had given it to her. She smiled and hung the gift around her neck. She stood, preparing to leave but stopped. 

She looked down at her tattered leathers, fingering the lacings of her skirt. A trade, it would only be right. She pulled at the lacing, its still-wet feather and crocodilian teeth decorations fluttered by her leg. Laying down her gift, she took one more quick look at the humans, nodded, and leapt into the forest again. 

As she began to run towards what she thought was home she could hear the astonished rumble of the human men's voices and she marvelled at how she had survived an encounter with the five fingers. It took her two days to finally get back to the holt with her amazing story. 

Even now, uncountable turns of the seasons since, she fingers the necklace during her quiet times and she still wonders what the human man had said to her. And in the human village, a scared leather lacing decorated with brightly coloured feathers and crocodilians teeth hangs on the symbol-maker's cave walls, next to a painting of a blonde, willowy forest spirit who blesses their hunters for a successful hunt. 

   [1]: http://www.rushwaterholt.com
   [2]: http://www.elfquest.com



End file.
